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08/01/2009

Israelis 10 – Palestinians 700

The death toll in this latest the Gaza Strip dust-up is Israelis 10 – Palestinians 700, if anyone is counting. I am not going to belabour that fact. The numbers speak for themselves. I try to be objective. It continues to be a struggle.

Today it is reported by the United Nations that Israel fired on UN installations and an ambulance convoy during the cease fire. There were UN fatalities. Don’t expect much reaction from our Department of Foreign Affairs. During the invasion of Lebanon the Israeli Air force bombed a UN observation post killing a Canadian soldier and the Prime Minister barely blinked.

So far the Canadian government has given Israel unqualified support, blaming Hamas for the civilian deaths. Our newly elected Junior Foreign Minister is the Scud Stud’s older brother and a former TV pretty face, Peter Kent. He seems to have taken over for the real Foreign Minister Laurence Cannon these days, particularly when it come to this conflict. He is quoted by Mcleans magazine as saying that despite very scant details that "Hamas bears the full responsibility for the deepening humanitarian tragedy.

“We really don’t have complete details yet, other than the fact that we know that Hamas has made a habit of using civilians and civilian infrastructure as shields for their terrorist activities, and that would seem to be the case again today. In many ways, Hamas behaves as if they are trying to have more of their people killed to make a terrible terrorist point.”

As a former journalist, it seems odd that he would come to such a conclusion without any read proof. He actually admits that he lacks credible information.What would not have been acceptable for his news editors seems to be fine for Harper and the boys. They have always played a bit free and easy with the truth.

It should be no surprise that Kent belongs to he Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) which is a Canadian political action organization that advocates greater support for Israel. The CCD has placed particular emphasis on calling for the Canadian Government to adopt an unabashedly pro-Israel stance, and rejects providing Palestinians with any development or humanitarian assistance and has been very critical of the Muslim world. It has done so with op-ed contributions to Canadian newspapers; through press releases; and in its public message forum. (All of these are available on the group's website).

After thinking about how skewed our foreign policy is, I don't feel so bad about my failing objectivity.

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Gord Hunter

I have lived in six different provinces but these days I hang my hat in Regina Saskatchewan. I guess you could say my interests beyond my family are photography, politics, travel, reading, cooking, single malts, Badminton, floor hockey,good beer and the blog title tells you how I feel about wine.

Latitude Drifts

Shelley Banks is a Canadian writer who holds two graduate degrees in writing. Her poetry, fiction and non-fiction have appeared in literary magazines, and she is working on her first book of poetry and first collection of short stories. This blog is about images and ideas; writing and publishing; and poetry, fiction and other forms of creative expression.

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Tired of the same old stuff? Looking for a book launch, a reading or an Arts Festival in and around Regina? Follow the link to a listing of literary events.